LEADER IN ME
American School of Kosova (ASK) believes that everyone has the potential to be a leader! Students are able to lead their own lives and affect those around them by making optimistic and positive choices. Therefore, this year, American School of Kosova is thrilled to begin implementing “The Leader in Me” Program throughout our entire school and beyond. Although ASK has been doing so many things to help our students mature and develop leadership skills, through incorporating Dr. Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits into every aspect in our school community, we can help our students become incredible leaders and successful learners.
The 7 Habits of Happy Kids are:
Habit 1- Be Proactive (You’re in charge)
Habit 2- Begin With the End in Mind (Have a Plan, Live by Design)
Habit 3-Put First Things First (Work First, Then Play)
Habit 4- Think Win-Win (Everyone Can Win)
Habit 5 Seek first to Understand, Then to be Understood (Listen Before You Talk)
Habit 6 Synergize (Together is Better)
Habit 7- Sharpen the Saw (Balance in Life feels best)
The Leader in Me provides students with activities that will help them learn character and life skills that will create a culture of student empowerment based on the principle that every child can be a leader. Students together with ASK staff and family will board on an exciting journey on exploring the use of 7 Habits principles training. Having a child reteach the content to their family members will give them an even deeper understanding and will be a great opportunity to learn together and grow. Applying the principles at home will make life easier and happier for the whole family too. It has been almost a month since our staff, students and parents became familiar with the Leader in Me language and so far it has been a great leadership learning journey. Teachers have been trained and are already integrating the 7 habits in our curriculum, collaborating between grade levels and doing different joyful lessons and activities displayed on our school walls. Parents are also helping their children at home by discussing and reflecting on the habits and making connections in everyday life. ASK will continue to provide ongoing training for our staff, students and parents in order to support our mission: Together educating the leaders of tomorrow for a better future.
How did the Leader in Me evolve?
Respected author and world renown speaker, Dr. Stephen Covey developed a program for adults used by many very successful corporations and businesses world-wide to help improve their performance both individually and as organizations. “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, has made a difference in millions of lives across the globe.
“The Leader in Me,” his more recent book, is a program developed for children based on the same principles of effectiveness to develop character and leadership skills of students. It describes how schools in Canada and United States were documenting improvements in academic scores, reduced discipline problems, soaring student self-confidence, greater staff engagement, greater parent satisfaction and improved school culture.
This year our ASK staff began to think about how the 7 Habits could be used to improve student success at American School of Kosova. We were looking for ways to help our students become more compassionate, responsible and accountable. The Leader in Me initiative seemed like the right fit!